


It Begins at the End

by SweepingBeauty



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28850346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweepingBeauty/pseuds/SweepingBeauty
Summary: On the last day of term Hecate Hardbroom realizes that she is in love. But a decision to guard her heart will produce unintended results.
Relationships: Ada Cackle/Hecate Hardbroom
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	It Begins at the End

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that this brings you some entertainment if you choose to read it. Dedicated to the wonderful Hackle shippers whose works I have so enjoyed reading and whose art I've swooned over.

It is her second year as Deputy Headmistress and Hecate is feeling quite cheerful as she heads to Ada’s office. It is the last day of school and the children have all been returned home. For the second year in a row she has all of her own end of term paperwork and has collected everything from the rest of the staff as well. She is so pleased to once again have been able to get it all sorted by the final day of the year so that Ada can look it over first thing tomorrow morning and then they can meet to sort out any orders or filing tomorrow afternoon and the rest of the summer is theirs to enjoy.

She is in such a good mood that she has already changed into a lighter summer dress, still black, but sleeveless and it only hits just below her knees. She won’t be spending any more time in the lab today and with the children gone she’s feeling much more at ease. She has even unbent so far as to be walking from the staff lounge to the headmistress's office. If she is quietly humming as she turns the corner, well there’s no one around to hear her. Everyone else is getting ready for the staff party this evening and this is her own last self appointed task. She knows that the paperwork can wait, but she enjoys Ada’s relief at knowing the paperwork will be done in a timely fashion. If she hopes to be invited to stay for a bit of tea and to chat, well there’s no harm in it.

She knocks on the door and receives a cheery “Come in!” Hecate transfers into the room and on the right front side of the desk. She is extending her hand to give Ada the paperwork already, and as the other woman looks up raising her own hand to accept the stack, their eyes meet and Ada smiles. Hecate’s reaction is immediate and devastating.  _ I love that smile, oh no I love her. _ This truth rings like a gong in her mind and the papers fall from her hand suddenly gone numb, they drift like leaves over Ada’s desk and down to the floor. She mumbles something in apology, clicks her fingers to right the stack and transfers away. Her own name in Ada’s concerned tones the last sound to reach her ears.

Hecate has transferred herself to the middle of the woods on the grounds, she’s fairly confident that no one will think to look for her here and she desperately needs a moment to herself. She can’t believe that today Ada’s smile has somehow stricken her to the core. They’ve been friends for nearly the entire time that Ada has been back as a teacher at Cackles, best friends for the last eight years and now she is her deputy. How has she not seen that she has been falling in love with her this whole time?

It isn’t surprising that she has; beautiful Ada, with her curly dark hair just beginning to have strands of silver show through. She is the kindest witch and indeed even person that Hecate has ever known. The way she teases Hecate, but also listens to her with marked intensity as though every word is important to her personally. Hecate groans and covers her face with her hands. This is a disaster! She is in love, and now that she knows it, she cannot go back to being ignorant of her own feelings. Then there’s the fact that she transferred out in an obvious fluster. How can she ever explain that to Ada? 

Ada can’t know the truth, because Hecate knows they can never be together. Even if she thought there was a chance Ada might love her in return, Hecate is bound to the academy, so she can never leave the grounds. Ada deserves someone who can take her away on romantic holidays and retire with her to some quiet spot far away from the academy in the future. Hecate gives a dismal chuckle, in stories the moment someone realizes they are in love isn’t it supposed to be a wonderful feeling full of hope and the potential for joy? She feels far more like crying.

She has been walking in the woods for who knows how long trying to sort out her feelings and what steps she can take. It is a mark of how much her mind is whirling that it has required this physical release. The nervous energy is gradually receding, but she isn’t sure what to do next. She obviously cannot avoid Ada, that would be impractical and her newly awoken heart cries unbearable. Ada can read Hecate quite well at this point and what if she looks directly into her eyes and knows. Ada would be kind, Hecate knows, with certainty, but pity from her friend or even sympathy is not something that she wants.

For now she needs to figure out how to explain her abrupt departure, and she checks her pocket-watch her hours-long absence. It is nearing the time of the staff party and so she transfers herself to her rooms to prepare. She’ll stick at least partly to the truth and tell Ada, that she’d just realized something important and transferred away to deal with it, and she is both embarrassed and sorry for her earlier behavior. Then she’ll stay at the party the minimum polite time and return to her rooms to hide. She’s a witch of strong self-control and given time she will master these feelings so that Ada need never be troubled by Hecate revealing her own heart.

In her room she unspools her usual bun and weaves her hair into a long dark single braid, which she pulls looser at the top to frame her face. Her mirror shows she has a message from Ada, and she listens to Ada’s confused inquiry to let her know if anything is the matter. As she chooses a dark red lipstick for the evening she applies it imagining that as she does so she is creating a seal to prevent any unplanned words from escaping. She refreshes her mascara and likewise imagines it guarding her eyes and keeping her thoughts protected. A witch makes things go her way and as strong as Hecate Hardbroom is these talismans will have some power created out of her will.

When arriving a moment later would actually make her late, Hecate takes a deep steadying breath and transfers just outside the staffroom door. She walks through and is greeted warmly by Gwen Bat who waves her over to join her and Celeste Hortus the academy’s gardens and grounds witch next to the punch. She moves to join them, eyes scanning the rest of the room as she sees Geraldine Gullet talking to Ada on the far side of the room. Fortunately Ada’s back is to her so she will have a few minutes before she has to face her. Gwen and Celeste are talking about their summer plans, and she finds herself grinning and much less tense as Celeste plots a garden tour, and spa holiday before going to visit her brother’s family in Cornwall. 

A gentle hand touches the back of her arm, and before she turns Hecate already knows who it is. “Gwen, Celeste, do you mind if I borrow my deputy for a moment?”

“Of course not, Ada, we’ll catch up with you later Hecate,” Gwen says as she and Celeste move off to choose some refreshments.

“Hecate dear, I just wanted to see if you were all right?” Ada’s voice is quiet, she smiles at Hecate, but her eyes indicate her concern.

“Yes, Ada, I’m perfectly fine, I apologize for my rudeness earlier, I just realized something and the shock of it caused me to drop the papers and then I was embarrassed by my lapse and reverted to a rather childish desire to flee the embarrassment. I didn’t get your mirror message until I got back to my room to get ready for the evening and I thought it better to just appear in person so you could see for yourself that I’m well.” Hecate has tried to make this seem a humorous overreaction on her part, and is pleased she’s been able to keep her tone even.

“Well if you’re sure, but you needn't have been embarrassed, dropping paperwork is hardly a fault.” Ada’s good cheer is restored and Hecate can’t help but smile back.

“You’re right, thank you for understanding.” Hecate says. Ada pats her arm again and moves off to mingle with the rest of the staff and Hecate works hard not to let herself deflate in relief. She can do this, today will have been the hardest and tomorrow will be easier. She stays at the party for a while more, and when she gets back up to her room realizes she never spent another moment of the evening in Ada’s company. She starts, looking back she realizes that she has always been acutely aware of where Ada is in a room and usually looks forward to joining her or being joined by her. Tonight however she has employed that awareness to achieve the exact opposite. Well she shrugs to herself it's done now and unlikely anyone else will have noticed.

The next morning Hecate wakes up and takes herself down to the kitchen. She pours herself some cold brew coffee and begins making an egg white and spinach omelette for herself. Mealtimes are very casual outside of term, and they are all allowed to fix whatever they like to eat, whenever they like and wherever. After last night’s party she knows most people will have elected to sleep in, but she still transfers her breakfast out to the garden to enjoy the freedom and solitude. When she’s done Hecate returns to the kitchen to wash her dishes and can’t see any evidence that anyone else has risen yet. She smirks to herself and transfers up to her lab. She’s had a research project that she has been wanting to tackle and has forced herself to wait for the end of term so she can give it the proper level of concentration.

Now in her lab she sets out a sheet of clean paper and begins to set out her plans for the potion she has been considering, She’ll make a list of ingredients and send off an order for them once she checks it against her personal stores. In this way she passes the morning comfortably, but finds that as the time passes she is beginning to feel nervous again. She and Ada have an appointment this afternoon to get through the end of term paperwork, so they can have orders placed, reports filed and be well ahead of all their deadlines. They usually work quite closely across Ada’s desk, and that proximity has her concerned today. Her feelings for Ada are still so close to the surface and last night with all their colleagues around there was distraction and separation which made the whole thing possible. 

At lunch her stomach is tight with worry and she decides this simply will not do. It has been a long time since she’s used this particular potion and it certainly isn’t something she’d recommend to anyone else, but desperate times. The detachment potion looks like nothing, which is apt since it is intended to make you feel nothing. She takes a dose and it is immediately as if a veil has been drawn between her head and heart. Hecate still knows that she loves Ada, but there isn’t any emotion behind it. She doesn’t feel relieved about this development. The potion is doing its job, so she feels nothing at all. Free now she makes herself a sandwich, some fruit and takes a packet of crisps for lunch down by the pond. When she finishes she returns to her lab and finds that no longer distracted with her nerves she is able to accomplish an astonishing amount of work. Her mirror chimes alerting her to the fact that her meeting with Ada is due to start in five minutes.

Hecate knocks on the door to Ada’s office and is bid once again to come in. She transfers just inside the door and begins to walk towards Ada’s desk. Ada once again is pleased to see her Hecate thinks, but is unmoved by the knowledge. “Good afternoon Ada, shall we get started?” She takes her seat across the desk and Ada passes her half the stack for review.

“It would appear that Gwen would like to replace some of the sheet music copies for next year, several are worn to the point she fears that they are unusable. That’s fifty copies total which seems well within the budget.” Hecate says, this being the last item up for discussion. Ada is regarding her somewhat strangely, but she can’t imagine why, she has been consummately professional during their entire meeting.

“It is as you say, I’ll add it to the ordering form for Griselda’s Musical Muse shop. That would seem to be the end of our paperwork, could I tempt you to join me for some tea dear?”

“Thank you,” Hecate says as she rises to her feet, “but I’ve a project I’d like to get a bit further on so that I can submit my ingredient order for it this evening. Perhaps tomorrow, Headmistress.” She twists her hand transferring away immediately, so she doesn’t see Ada’s startled and hurt expression. Back in her lab once again Hecate returns to her project and succeeds in determining everything she will need for the initial phase. She sends her order form away through the mirror. The shop will get it first thing in the morning when they open and with luck she’ll have her delivery tomorrow afternoon.

Dinner is a roasted chicken and vegetable affair where she only runs into Maria Tapioca who is putting together a list of the remaining food in the school fridge and the expiration dates. She greets Hecate, but otherwise they each go silently about their business. After dinner Hecate returns to her rooms where she picks a book to read, Publish or Perish, is a mystery written by a famous potion professor who retired a few years ago and Hecate has been looking forward to starting it. The detachment potion hasn’t worn off yet, and so she abandons the attempt and instead catches up on an academic journal. 

That night Hecate dreams, usually she doesn’t remember them, but these are so vivid and what’s worse is they linger. She dreams of Ada, walking together in a field of wildflowers, kissing her on the cliffs of Dover, holding hands across a table lit with only candles. Hecate wakes and is torn, she wants badly to hold on to those dreams, since they are likely all she’ll ever have, but at the same time it has brought her feelings roaring back to the surface and she can’t take the chance she’ll run into Ada today while she is this raw. She summons the detachment potion again and takes another dose. She calls one of the dreams back up and examines it with clinical distance. Yes she is quite safe now. 

Normally because Ada is her best friend, Hecate would seek her out now that term is over to have lunch, or dinner together, possibly both since they are generally the only ones still left in the castle at this point. The rest of the staff come and go during the summer break, and Ada generally takes at least one trip to visit her parents, or occasionally to go see a friend. They usually also get together for tea or to play cards in the evening. But today Hecate sees everything with great clarity and makes sure to take each meal during a time she is unlikely to encounter her Headmistress, and is out on the grounds collecting ingredients that are available this time of year so she can stock up, she takes delivery of her requested supplies that afternoon and retreats to her lab. Shortly after dinner the detachment potion fades away and she reads her mystery book before bed.

She dreams again of Ada, in some ways it is similar to the previous night, vivid and bright though the scenarios change. She and Ada are having dinner in Ada’s office on a little table next to the window that looks out onto the grounds. Pressing Ada into one of the hallway alcoves and kissing her until they are both breathless. It ends with a nightmare, Hecate and Ada are walking in the woods on the grounds when Ada is yanked away from her, vanishing into the darkness. Hecate wakes in a cold sweat, reaching for an Ada who is calling out to her in terror. She shakes all the dreams away from her and immediately takes another dose of the detachment potion. 

A quick cup of coffee, and a couple or hard boiled eggs later Hecate is in her lab. She’s set out the caldrons on four student desks each with a sheet where she has outlined the variation she plans to attempt. The base of these potions will all be the same so she walks doesil around them adding each ingredient in the same amount four separate times. They’ll need to simmer for several hours and while she waits she reads some more academic journals, taking notes as she goes. She gets so involved with her research once the experimentation actually begins that she doesn’t even notice that the lunch hour has come and gone. 

It is tea time when she hears a knock on the open door to her lab. Ada is standing in the entryway twisting her hands. “Hecate, I noticed that you missed lunch, I wondered if you’d care to join me for tea and sandwiches.”

“I’d no idea of the time. Too invested in my research I suppose.” Hecate says and watches Ada blanch. Hecate is of course unaware that the smile she’s given doesn’t reach her eyes. “I need to stick with this batch though, could I meet you in the kitchen for dinner at six?” 

“Of course, good luck with your research.” Ada replies.

Hecate makes sure to set a reminder on her mirror and it chimes appropriately at five minutes before the appointed hour. She clicks her fingers to tidy the lab and then transfers straight to the kitchen. Ada has apparently gone all out, spaghetti noodles in a medium bowl, meat sauce simmering on the stove and the scent of garlic bread coming from the oven. It is a meal they have shared many times, but Hecate currently cut off from her emotions mostly registers that it will be a longer dinner together than they usually would have. Ada smiles warmly at her arrival, as she pulls a salad out of the fridge. “I thought since you missed lunch a larger dinner might be in order, there’s even chocolate mousse for dessert?”

“A very impressive spread,” Hecate says as he summons some plates and silverware along with napkins to set the table.” 

Ada sets down the salad, “Hecate is there something the matter?” she looks braced for something, but in her current state Hecate can’t imagine what that might be.

“No, you’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to make dinner for us both, why should anything be the matter?

“Well you haven’t looked me in the eyes yet this evening and I can’t help but feel you’ve been avoiding me in general since the last day of term.” Ada’s eyes are filled with concern, and perhaps the smallest amount of fear.

“I haven’t been avoiding you Ada, I’ve just been busy, I shall make more time to be social in the future.” Hecate finishes looking directly into Ada’s eyes. Ada gasps and moves around the table to grab Hecate’s hands.

“I don’t believe you, especially since your expression looks so vacant. If I’ve done something to offend you or hurt you in any way, please tell me, or if something has happened that has upset you outside of the school please share it with me. Just don’t shut me out, please Hecate.”

Ada’s touch combined with the truly heartfelt words she’s said are enough to shatter the remaining effects of the detachment potion. Hecate’s heart is fully restored and sees clearly that her behavior over these last few days has not only worried, but hurt Ada. That pain, and knowing that she is it’s cause sends agony shooting through her. It must show in her eyes and is certainly betrayed by the trembling of her hands in Ada’s. The other witch squeezes her hands, “Hecate, please.” There are now tears in the corner’s of Ada’s eyes and Hecate is undone.

“I am so very sorry Ada, you haven’t done anything wrong. This is all a failing of my own and I swear I will be better in the future. I’ve been trying to keep my emotions in check and it seems instead all I have done is become withdrawn and a source of worry.” She squeezes Ada’s hands back and then pulls her own free. Hecate takes a step back and crosses her arm protectively over her body. She’ll need all the strength she has for what will come next.

If Ada has looked concerned before she looks doubly so now. ”Hecate dear, I can’t imagine what emotions you’ve been struggling with that have made you take such drastic action, but perhaps if you tell me there might be something I can do to help?”

Hecate feels her thoughts flying a mile a minute, she’ll have to tell Ada the full truth now, and she resigns herself to heartbreak and the likelihood that she is about to lose the comfortable and sustaining friendship she has shared with Ada. “There’s no help for it I’m afraid. I find myself irrevocably in love with you.” she can’t quite make herself look Ada in the eyes instead speaking just over her right shoulder. 

Of all the things she might have imagined Hecate would say it is clear that this is not one of them. Ada swallows hard, and Hecate looks down at the ground, “I see and discovering that you are in love with me has made you this unhappy.” Ada says thickly.

“No!” Hecate’s head whips up at the very idea and she can see a tear making its way down Ada’s cheek, she longs to close the distance and wipe it away. “Discovering that I was in love with you was a surprise, it’s been coming on so gradually for so long, but the recognition was like a bolt out of the blue. My unhappiness is in the nature of the love, unrequited as it is. I didn’t want to burden you with the knowledge of how I felt. Obviously that’s been a smashing success.” Hecate tries here for a rueful smile, but even from the inside it feels more like a grimace.

Ada’s features widen in astonishment, “But my dear, it is thoroughly requited.”

“What?” Hecate hears the disbelief coloring that single word from her mouth, and she watches as a smile that rivals the sun itself breaks across Ada’s face.

“I love you too my dear, I’d contented myself that friendship was all we would ever have.”

“Ada, you know I’m bound to the academy, I can’t give you the life and the love you deserve.” Hecate says in a last ditch effort to be sure Ada understands what this would mean. 

“Hecate, I think I know what sort of life and love I want, and I can’t imagine deserving you at all, but I shall certainly try.” Ada’s eyes are filled with tears again, but this time she is smiling through them.

There is truly nothing for it now, Hecate moves forward and reaches to cup Ada’s beloved face in her hands. She looks into those crystalline blue eyes and sees all the love she never thought she’d find let alone be allowed to have reflected in their depths. “Darling Ada, you deserve everything you want, and all the things you haven’t thought of yet, I want you to have all of them.” Hecate is confident in the answer but nevertheless asks, “May I kiss you?’

“Yes, ple…” is all the response Ada is allowed before Hecate covers her lips with her own. It is gentle and Ada sighs, wrapping her own arms around Hecate’s waste. Hecate moves one hand to cradle the back of Ada’s head and the other down to her neck and begins kissing along her jawline. Ada shivers as Hecate’s lips hit the spot just below her ear. Hecate pulls back and slants her lips back across Ada’s deepening the kiss now. Feeling like fire is running golden through her veins. 

The kitchen timer dings at least three times before it penetrates either woman’s awareness and they break apart, Hecate releasing Ada so she can take the sauce off the stove. Hecate retrieves a bottle of champagne to have with dinner thrilled with the delighted sparks in Ada’s eyes when she decrees it is necessary since they are celebrating. When their plates are made, Hecate fills both glasses and raises her own in toast. “To you Ada, with all my love.”

“All my love to you as well.” They clink glasses and beam at each other across the table.

In the coming years they will find their relationship tested as all relationships are, but Hecate will never take a detachment potion again, and their roots strong and deep will give rise to a beautiful love that sustains, encourages and brings them both so much joy.  
  
  
  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The prompt of The Last Day of School from the Hackle Summer Trope Challenge 2020 was used to generate this story. Clearly, I'm well past fashionably late to that particular party. Thanks for reading!


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